


Neither A Damsel Nor Distressed

by mikachuchu



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Humor, Marichat | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Marinette is no damsel in distress, and Chat Noir finds out the hard way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:41:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27702916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikachuchu/pseuds/mikachuchu
Summary: Marinette kept walking tentatively, straining her ears to catch quiet but ever-present footsteps. When she stopped, they stopped. When she walked, they walked. A quick glance into her purse and seeing Tikki’s concerned eyes staring back at her was all the confirmation she needed to know she wasn’t hearing things.She wasn’t scared, though; she was more annoyed and frustrated that she was probably about to get jumped. The girl just wanted to go home for God’s sake.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 25
Kudos: 302





	Neither A Damsel Nor Distressed

“Really, Marinette, it’s like you have a death wish.” 

“I don’t think _you_ of all people can be lecturing me about having a death wish.” Marinette crossed her arms in Alya’s entryway, the two locked in a standoff. “I’m just trying to walk home, but you go off chasing akumas all the time. If anyone has a death wish, it’s you.”

“Except you’re leaving out the fact that you’re trying to walk home in the dead of night,” she argued back, blocking the front door. “Just sleepover and you can walk home in the morning.”

Marinette tried to school her face to hide her frustration. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem. Normally, she would head out before it got too dark. Normally, she would transform and swing herself home. But of course, she lost track of time and now, no one with common sense would be out alone at this hour. If she wasn’t a superhero, she would agree that walking home at eleven o’clock at night wasn’t the safest idea. 

But she _was_ a superhero. She was more than capable to get herself home safe; the only thing standing between her and freedom was a very stubborn Alya Césaire. 

“Look, we live in _Paris_. With superheroes patrolling every other night.” Ah, yes. The superhero card, guaranteed to be effective. Marinette watched with satisfaction as some of the tension in Alya’s shoulders went away. _Bingo._ “Chat Noir’s out tonight, right? Nothing bad will happen to me if he’s around.”

She watched with bated breath as she began to consider it, hoping and praying her best friend would let her go. 

“Fine.” 

Marinette tried to keep herself from looking too excited, keeping the victory party internal as she gave her best friend a reassuring grin. “I’ll text you as soon as I get home. Promise. And I’ll keep my phone out with the police dialled if – in the unlikely event – something does actually happen.” 

“You better,” Alya warned before finally opening the door to send her off. “I swear to God, Marinette, if you forget to call me or if you fall asleep as soon as you get home-“

“You have permission to strangle me.”

“As if I needed permission. I was going to do it anyway.” After one last hug, Alya let her go. Marinette walked down the block, knowing full well Alya was watching from her front door. It was only when she was sure she was out of sight did she finally relax. 

“I thought she would hold me hostage and never let me leave,” Marinette joked as she opened her purse, Tikki’s eyes meeting with hers. 

“I think it was sweet how worried she was for you,” she countered, snacking on a cookie. “She’s a good friend.”

“That she is. No matter how stubborn she may be. Now, we just need to find somewhere to transform then we’ll really be home free.” She kept walking down the street in search of a good hiding place until the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. 

Call it Ladybug instinct or a gut feeling, but she was almost certain she was being watched. A quick glance behind her confirmed she was the only one on the street, but she couldn’t shake the feeling away. 

Marinette kept walking tentatively, straining her ears to catch quiet but ever-present footsteps. When she stopped, they stopped. When she walked, they walked. A quick glance into her purse and seeing Tikki’s concerned eyes staring back at her was all the confirmation she needed to know she wasn’t hearing things. 

She wasn’t scared, though; she was more annoyed and frustrated that she was probably about to get jumped. The girl just wanted to go home for God’s sake. 

So, when she felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder, she braced her knees, grabbed onto the stranger’s arm and threw them over her shoulder without hesitation. Marinette was half a second from giving them a piece of her mind before she recognized the bright green eyes and leather catsuit. 

_Of freaking course._

~~~~~

Adrien would dare to consider himself a good person; he always followed his father’s orders, worked hard in school, was nice to his classmates (even the not so nice ones) and, of course, saved Paris every now and then. He didn’t expect anything in return, but he definitely didn’t expect to be yeeted to the ground for doing his job. 

Least of all, he never expected Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng to do the yeeting.

She was – quite literally – painfully clumsy and he found himself catching her from falling on a nearly daily basis. She was endearingly anxious (but only around him for whatever reason) and while he was sure there was nothing she couldn’t do, throwing an entire person over her shoulder seemingly without any struggle was hard to believe. And yet, there he was, laying on the ground, air knocked out of his lungs as she stood over him still clutching his arm.

 _God,_ she was amazing. Was there anything she couldn’t do?

“Evening, Purr-incess,” he wheezed. 

“Don’t ‘Purr-incess’ me.” She let go of his arm but made no move to help him up. Adrien didn’t mind; he needed a second to catch his breath anyways. “What were you _thinking?_ Why’d you sneak up on me like that?”

“Sneak up on you? I did no such thing,” he grinned, pushing himself up to his feet. “You see, I was just doing my job, patrolling on the rooftops, when I saw a certain damsel in distress that I thought needed help.”

He didn’t think Marinette could look even more unimpressed with him, but boy, was she willing to prove him wrong. She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m no damsel. And last I checked, _you_ were the one in distress. Not me.” 

Oh god, this was definitely not going how he thought it would. From being thrown to the ground to offending her, this was far from how he wanted his night to go. “N-No! Of course not. I didn’t mean you were- You definitely don’t need a big strong man to save you, Marinette.”

“That I don’t.”

“I just- It’s like worryingly late out. It’s not safe for anyone to be walking out here on their own,” he explained, hoping to dig himself out of the grave he was in. “Shouldn’t you be at home?”

“Funny enough, I was just on my way there. But…” Adrien tried not to squirm under her gaze as she tried to make up her mind on him. 

He’d already ruined his first impression with her as Adrien; she couldn’t speak a full sentence around him and it was like she’d rather be anywhere he wasn’t. Being Chat Noir was like a second chance. If he messed up as his superhero alter-ego, well… Unless Ladybug was willing to give him the snake miraculous to befriend his classmate that seemingly hated him, (and he knew she wasn’t,) he was out of secret identities to try again. 

“But if a certain cat wanted to walk me home, I _guess_ he can give me some company.” 

The ears on top of his head perked up from where they were previously flattened against his hair and he gave her his signature grin before offering an arm to her. 

“I’d love to, Princess.” His grin only widened as she took his arm with a roll of her eyes. Adrien loved seeing this rare side of her he never got to see at school. If only he could see it without the super suit. “So, what are you doing out so late anyway? Isn’t it a bit late to still be out?”

“I was working on a project at my friend Alya’s house and we lost track of time,” she explained as they started walking. “Her parents are out of town and my parents go to bed early because they have to be up at dawn so I figured I’d just walk home.”

“You’re really brave, you know that? Like stupidly brave.”

“You say that as if you didn’t already know,” she smirked and Adrien couldn’t help but chuckle. 

“Believe me, I know. Not many people are willing to act as bait for an akuma,” he praised. “And that quick thinking when Evillustrator trapped us? We would’ve sunk on that boat if it weren’t for you. You’re a superhero in your own right, Marinette. No wonder Ladybug chose you to be Multimouse.”

Marinette smiled a mix of both satisfaction and playfulness. “That’s high praise coming from _the_ Chat Noir.”

“It’s well deserved,” he assured, turning to her with nothing but pride and admiration in his eyes. “Not many people can say they can flip an entire person over their shoulder with ease. Let alone a superhero.”

“W-Well I wouldn’t say _with ease_ exactly,” she insisted quickly but he knew better than that. He’d yeeted a good number of baddies in his time as a hero. It was easy enough thanks to the suit, but he couldn’t imagine how hard it would be for a civilian like Marinette. 

“Really? You could’ve had me fooled,” he chuckled as they crossed the street. “Your form was great. It’s like you flip people daily.”

“Well, you’re not wrong there,” she muttered under her breath, making him lean in to hear her better. 

“Huh?”

“Nothing,” she insisted quickly. “I help out my parents in the bakery a lot and the flour bags can be pretty heavy.” Marinette shrugged before readjusting her hold on his arm. “You’re not as hard to flip as you’d think.”

“Wow. I don’t know if I should be impressed or offended,” he chuckled. Adrien was having a great time bantering with Marinette. Who knew she was so witty and, dare he say, a bit of a tease? If he was bold enough to think about it, she reminded him a lot of his lady. “Don’t tell Ladybug. She would never let me hear the end of it if she knew you managed to take me down.”

“Something tells me you’re right about that,” she giggled, her eyes lighting up with amusement. “But lucky for you, she doesn’t know, does she?”

“She doesn’t… Unless,” he paused, leaning in close to her face with a Cheshire grin. “ _You_ wouldn’t happen to be Ladybug, would you?” For the first time that night, Marinette quickly became flustered and he thanked his dark vision for being able to see her cheeks glow red. 

“W-What? _Me?_ Be _Ladybug??_ Don’t be ridiculous, Chat!” Adrien couldn’t help but laugh as she pushed herself away from him and towards her front door. Huh. He didn’t realize they’d already walked all the way back to the bakery until she pulled away. _Had it been that long already?_

“I’m just teasing, Mouse-inette,” he grinned as she huffed and dug out her keys. He walked up to her, pulling her hand from her purse and dropping to press a kiss to her knuckles. “Now that your brave knight in shining leather has seen to it that the damsel has arrived home safely, I’m afraid I must take my leave,” he frowned in playful regret as he straightened before her.

“I’m no damsel, Chat Noir,” Marinette corrected with a smirk that could rival Ladybug as she pulled her hand away to flick his bell. The move was effective and left him in an awed daze. “I’m a _princess_. Don’t you forget it.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come hang out with me on [tumblr!](https://mikachu-chu.tumblr.com/)


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